Educational Psychology
Module 10 Reading
Chapter 13
Educational Psychology
CHAPTER OUTLINE
The Research Methods of Educational Psychology
Descriptive Research
Correlational Research
Scientific Experiments
Multi-Participant Experiments
Single-Case Experiments
Student Diversity
The Effects of Culture
The Effects of Socioeconomic Status
The Effects of Ethnicity and Race
The Effects of Sex and Gender Roles
The Effects of Different Learning Styles
Check Your Learning
The Learning Environment
The Effect of Time
Keeping Lost Time to a Minimum
The Effects of Classroom Management
The Effect of the Initial Classes
The Effect of Establishing Class Rules
Managing Inappropriate Behavior
Dealing With More Serious Misbehavior
Applied Behavior Analysis
Using Applied Behavior Analysis to Deal With Serious Misbehavior
Check Your Learning
Assessment
Developing and Using Learning Objectives
The Importance and Functions of Assessment
Types of Assessment
Formative vs. Summative
Norm-Bases vs. Criterion-Based
Test Construction
Writing Items for an Objective Test
Developing Essay Questions
Other Assessment Methods
Performance-Based Assessment
Portfolio Assessment
Grading
Allowing Students To Retake a Test: Educational Psychology in Your Own Life
Check Your Learning
Because we have all been part of the educational system for years, we understand that learning is the main resource of the schools that we have attended. Given this emphasis placed on learning by our society, it has always been somewhat of a surprise that textbooks on the psychology of learning have not included a chapter on educational psychology. We hope to correct that apparent oversight in this book.
A definition of educational psychology is a logical starting point. Reynolds and Miller (2003) indicate that educational psychology involves three main components: learners, the process of learning, and teachers. Thus, we can define educational psychology as the simultaneous evaluation of learners, the process of learning, and teachers. As we examine these main components throughout this chapter, you should keep in mind that the emphasis of educational psychology differs somewhat from what we have encountered in previous chapters. Rather than seeking to understand and elucidate the basic processes of learning, many educational psychologists are interested in the conditions and situations under which students learn the best. However, before we focus on this emphasis and the three components of educational psychology, we need to examine the research methods that the educational psychologist uses.
The Research Methods of Educational Psychology
Without question, research is the cornerstone of educational psychology. By conducting research projects, educational psychologists confirm or disprove what may seem to be commonsense, as well as testing and verifying proposals of effective new methods for teaching and learning (Levin, O’Donnell, & Kratochwill, 2003). In turn, teachers put the results of these research projects into practice in the classroom. For example, based on research results, a third-grade teacher may decide to reward her students with a colorful sticker every time they spell a word correctly. Another third-grade teacher might choose to to use verbal praise for each correctly spelled word. In both cases research findings and their associated theories support the decisions of these teachers. Clearly, a great deal of teaching can, and should, involve decision making that is based on research. Hence, teachers must be aware of current research methods and findings.
Although some educational psychology research deals with techniques, such as using a colorful sticker or verbal praise as a reinforcer, that teachers can use to directly modify student behaviors, many, usually large-scale, projects examine the impact and benefits that a particular educational program may have on students. The Tennessee Class Size project is a good example; this research examined the effect of class size on student achievement in the early grades (Finn & Achilles, 1999). The results of this research project have impacted both state and federal class-size proposals (Finn, 2002).
Beyond the distinction that we have made between more focused, single-purpose studies and larger research programs designed to impact general educational policies, educational psychologists use several specific research methodologies. These methodologies include descriptive research, correlational research, multi-participant experiments, and single-case experiments.
Descriptive Research
Although researchers classify descriptive research as nonexperimental, this description only means that the researcher does not does not directly manipulate or control any factor or variable. Descriptive research methods do not necessarily produce inferior results.
**** What factors might influence an educational psychologist to choose to use a descriptive research method? Write down some possibilities before reading further.
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The choice to use a descriptive method depends on the type of problem being investigated, where the investigation is conducted, and the nature of the data the researcher gathers. Here are some examples.
Researchers who administer surveys or conduct interviews are using a descriptive research technique. For example, an educational researcher may interview voters to determine attitudes toward a proposed school bond election.
Some educational psychologists may choose to use previously recorded or archival data for their research. For example, a researcher may be interested in changes in the general public’s attitude toward the type of clothing children are allowed to wear to school. A search of “Letters to the Editor” column in the local newspaper over several decades would seem to be a good source of relevant information.
Other educational researchers may choose to conduct an ethnographic study. Ethnography is a type of descriptive research that involves the researcher becoming part of the group that is studied. From this vantage point the researcher writes a description of the group or situation. For example, a researcher may assume the role of a teacher’s aide and write a description of grade school classes in poorly funded and well-funded schools (see, Kozol, 1991).
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Action research is another type of descriptive research that educational psychologists use frequently. In action research teachers or school administrators may try out a new procedure, such as a new teaching method or organizational strategy, in their classrooms or schools (Reason & Bradbury, 2001). At the end of the project the teacher or administrator communicates the results to others. Thus, a new teaching technique that is tried and found effective by a second-grade teacher may be implemented by other second-grade teachers who learn about this technique from the teacher who originally used it. Although action research may produce intriguing results, it lacks, as do all descriptive methods, the objectivity of a more controlled experiment.
Correlational Research
<P>In its basic form a <KT>correlational study</KT> involves the measurement and determination of the relation between two variables (hence the term <ITAL>co-relation</ITAL>). In terms of control, empirical measurement, and statistical analysis, a correlational study is likely to be more rigorous than one of the descriptive methods we have just considered. In order to understand the intent and purpose of a correlational study, we need to review some basic facts about correlations.<LINK LINKEND=”MN2.04.020″><SIDEIND NUM=”20″ ID=”MN2.04.020″/></LINK></P>
<P>One of three basic patterns may emerge when a correlation is calculated. The two variables may be <KT>positively correlated</KT>: As one variable <ITAL>increases</ITAL>, scores on the other variable also <ITAL>increase</ITAL>. For example, test scores are positively correlated if a student who makes a low score on Test 1 also scores low on Test 2, and a student who scores high on Test 1 also scores high on Test 2.
<P>Two variables may also be negatively related. A <KT>negative correlation</KT> indicates that an <ITAL>increase</ITAL> in one variable is accompanied by a <ITAL>decrease</ITAL> in the second variable. For example, drinking water on a hot day and thirst are negatively related; the more water consumed, the less intense the thirst.
**** So far we have indicated that correlations can be either positive or negative. However, at the beginning of this section we indicated that there are three types of correlations. Try to determine (or remember from a previous psychology class) what the third type of correlation is before reading further.
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<P><KT>Zero correlations</KT> indicate that the two variables under consideration are not related. High scores on one variable may be paired with low, high, or intermediate scores on the second variable, and vice versa. In other words, knowing the score on Variable 1 does not help us predict the score on Variable 2. A zero correlation may not be exactly 0. For example, a correlation of 0.03 would be considered a zero correlation by most researchers. For example, it is quite likely that students’ height and grade on a test would have a near-zero correlation.
<P>A correlational research project uses the correlational mathematical technique to analyze the data gathered by the researcher and allows the researcher to make predictions. For example, you probably took an entrance examination, such as the American College Test (ACT) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), when you applied for admission to college. Previous research has shown that scores on such entrance examinations are <ITAL>positively correlated</ITAL> with first-semester grades in college. Thus, a college or university admissions committee might use your entrance-exam score to predict how you would perform in your college classes. Obviously, the closer a correlation comes to being perfect, the better our predictions will be.
Scientific Experiments<LINK LINKEND=”BX1.04.004″><BOXIND NUM=”4″ ID=”BX1.04.004″/></LINK></P>
<H2></H2>
<P>In many respects you can view an <SIDEIND NUM=”7″ ID=”MN2.01.007″/><KT>experiment</KT> as an attempt to determine the cause-and-effect relations that exist in nature. Researchers are interested in determining those factors that result in or cause predictable events. In its most basic form, the psychological experiment consists of three related factors: the independent variable, the dependent variable, and extraneous variables.</P>
<P>The factor that is the major focus of the research and that the researcher directly manipulates is known as the <SIDEIND NUM=”8″ ID=”MN2.01.008″/><KT>independent variable (IV):</KT> <ITAL>independent</ITAL> because it can be directly manipulated by the investigator and <ITAL>variable</ITAL> because it is able to assume two or more values (often called <ITAL>levels</ITAL>). The IV is the causal part of the relation researchers seek to establish.
<P>The <SIDEIND NUM=”9″ ID=”MN2.01.009″/><KT>dependent variable (DV)</KT> consists of the recorded information or results <ITAL>of the experiment. The DV is the effect half of the cause-and-effect relation we are examining. The term <ITAL>dependent</ITAL> is used because if the experiment is conducted properly, changes in DV scores will result from (depend on) the manipulation of the IV.</P>
<P><SIDEIND NUM=”10″ ID=”MN2.01.010″/><KT>Extraneous variables</KT> are those factors, other than the IV, that can influence the DV and change the results of an experiment. For example, suppose an educational psychologist wants to evaluate two new methods of instruction. She has two teachers.each teach one of these methods for a semester and then compares performance between the two classes. Unfortunately, when she compares the performance of these two classes, the researcher is faced with an unsolvable dilemma: were the observed differences caused by the different instructional methods (the IV) or by difference in the two teachers (an extraneous variable)? Unfortunately, when an extraneous variable is present we have no way of knowing whether the extraneous variable or the IV caused the effect we observe.
There are many variations on the basic experimental arrangement. We will examine two these arrangements, the multi-participant experiment and the single-case experiment, next.
<P> Multi-Participant Experiments In a multi-participant experiment, researchers test or evaluate several participants. Frequently the the researchers randomly assigns these participants to an experimental group, which receives the IV, and a control group, which does not receive the IV. Random assignment of participants to groups helps insure the creation of equal groups. Then, because the only difference the groups is supposed to be the IV, the researcher is more confident in attributing differences to the IV. Of course, this basic two-group design can be expanded to include several IVs each of which can have several levels or values.
Educational psychologists conduct multi-participant experiments in both laboratories and more natural settings, such as regular classrooms. The advantage of conducting research in the laboratory is that the researcher is able to exercise greater control over extraneous variables. On the other hand, the more natural setting removes the artificiality of the laboratory and allows the researcher to generalize the results to other classrooms more easily. An often-cited experiment by Lepper, Greene, and Nesbitt (1993) provides a good example of a multi-participant study. In this research, the experimenters randomly assigned grade-school students to either an experimental or control group. Students in the experimental group received a prize for drawing pictures with a felt marker (an enjoyable activity), whereas students in the control group did not receive a prize. Later, the children who received the prize chose to draw with the markers significantly less than did the children in the no-prize group. Leeper et al. interpreted these results as showing that rewarding an enjoyable behavior can reduce interest in that behavior. In
Another type of multi-participant experiment is a randomized field experiment. Typically researchers use randomized field experiments to evaluate instructional programs over a substantial period of time, such as an academic term (Levin et al., 2003). For example, in order to evaluate two different types of instruction, the fifth-grade classes in a school district (or large school) might be randomly assigned to one of the instruction types at the beginning of the school year. At the end of the school year, the researcher would compare progress made under each of the instruction types to see if there was a significant difference. In this example, the random assignment of classes is conceptually similar to the random assignment of individual participants.
Single-Case Experiments <P>A <KT>single-case experimental design</KT> (also known as an <ITAL>N</ITAL> = 1 design) is just that; this term simply refers to an experiment that has only one participant. In a single-case experiment, researchers institute controls just as they do in a multi-participant experiment—the only difference is that this experiment deals with just one participant. Also, just as in a multi-participant experiment, the researcher must take precautions in dealing with extraneous variables.
To illustrate a single-case experiment, consider a third-grade teacher who has a disruptive student in his class. To deal with this behavior, the teacher first recorded the typical level of misbehavior. This measurement is called the baseline. Once the baseline has been established, then the teacher instituted a treatment program that consisted of ignoring misbehavior (i.e., extinction) and reinforcing appropriate behaviors with a desired outcome (e.g., being allowed to go outside for recess). By comparing the level of misbehavior following the treatment with the baseline level, the teacher can evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment. This type of single-case study, often called a behavior-modification or b-mod project, is used frequently by teachers.
We have examined some of the research methods used by educational psycvhologists and teachers, we now look more closely at some of their research findings. Student diversity is one of the areas in which educational psychology has made a genuine contribution to the understanding of learning.
Student Diversity
In Chapter 5 we saw that taste-aversion research, especially research on preparedness, challenged the view that all organisms could be classically conditioned under similar conditions. Educational psychologists were quick to recognize that this same logic also applied to students and the learning that was supposed to take place during the school years. Research has supported their contention that students from different cultures, socioeconomic backgrounds, and races may not learn in the same manner time and again.
The Effect of Culture Culture is the shared language, traditions, customs, behaviors, and norms of a group (King, 2002). In the United States, most schools and teachers reflect middle-class values and behaviors (Grossman, 1995); hence, as we will see, students from different cultures or different subcultures are likely to b at a distinct disadvantage.
Researchers (e.g., Matsumoto & Juang, 2004; Shiraev & Levy, 2007) have proposed that cultures can differ on one or more of four basic dimensions. These four dimensions are:
Individualism-collectism is the extent to which a culture encourages individual behaviors, accomplishments, and needs, as opposed to group behavior and accomplishments.
Power distance is the “power differential between a less powerful person and a more powerful one within a culture” (Keith, 2008, p. 485).
Uncertainty avoidance refers to the degree to which a culture has developed processes for its members to cope with and reduce uncertainty and ambiguity.
Masculinity-femininity is the degree to which a society maintains and supports traditional gender distinctions and gender roles.
**** Now, with these four core cultural dimensions in mind, try to visualize what it would be like to be for a child to grow up in a culture that is high (or low) in one or more of these dimensions and then enter a culture that holds the opposite value(s). How will this transition affect the student’s ability to learn in the school setting? Write down some possibilities before you read further.
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There are numerous potential problems that can confront a student from a different culture; here are several of the more common ones. Children who grow up in a collectivist culture amd expect that group collaboration is the norm likely will find it difficult to adapt to the individualist approach to learning that pervades the United States. In fact, such students may even be suspected of engaging in academic dishonesty because of their collectivist expectations. Likewise, both male and female children who grow up in a culture that denigrates women may find it difficult to adapt to the more equalitarian nature of schools in the United States. Of course, the converse of these two situations would definitely be true for a student who was raised in the United States and had to adapt to the cultural and educational practices in a different culture. Clearly, a person’s culture does impact learning. Socioeconomic status also impacts learning.
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The Effects of Socioeconomic Status Socioeconomic status (SES) refers to the combination of a person’s occupation, income, prestige, and education in his or her society (Levine & Levine, 1996). Most researchers divide the socioeconomic structure in the United States into several classes or strata. For example, Levine and Levine (1996) distinguish five classes: upper, upper middle, lower middle, upper working, and lower working.
In addition to providing an indication of income level and education, social class membership also carries information concerning expectations, attitudes, and behaviors. These expectations, attitudes, and behaviors can, and do, have a dramatic impact on learning and performance in school. For example, the 2003 reading performance scores for 8th graders on the National Assessment of Educational Programs (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003) were positively correlated with the parents’ educational level. Because education is a core component of SES, this result is not surprising.
The child’s home environment also can influence learning in a variety of ways. For example, Natriello (2002) reported that students from lower SES homes are more likely to have health problems, vision problems, and hearing problems that remain uncorrected and preclude their success in school. Moreover, researchers (e.g., Heyns, 2002) have found that low SES children are at a disadvantage even during the summer when school is not in session. Why? Whereas, higher SES families provide more “school-like” activities, such as a week-long “dinosaur” day camp at the local zoo, children from lower SES families often do not have these opportunities and fall even farther behind their higher SES counterparts. This “summer effect” has become so prevalent that some schools are now offering special summer programs for at-risk students (Borman & Boulay, 2004). Of course, the fact that most schools and teachers represent middle-class values does not help lowers SES children adapt to and thrive in the school setting.
For a number of years researchers have concerned themselves with determining if the achievement shown by lower SES children is inevitable or if it can be avoided. The positive effects shown by the special summer programs (Borman & Boulay, 2004), tutoring programs for reading (Denton, Anthony, Parker, & Hasbrouck, 2004), and high quality after-school programs (McComb & Scott-Little, 2003) clearly indicate that low performance and achievement by these at-risk children can be avoided. Moreover, it is important that teachers not stereotype all lower SES children as potential failures and realize that these children can and do succeed academically (Persell, 1997).
In addition to SES, ethnicity and race also can influence children’s academic performance. We turn to this topic next.
The Effects of Ethnicity and Race Ethnicity refers to the culture, identity, and history shared by a group of people; whereas, race refers to the visible physical characteristics, such as skin color, that identify individuals as members of some general group. Without question, the racial and ethnic composition of the United States is becoming more diverse (Hodgkinson, 2001).
Children in many under-represented (minority) groups do not do well academically. The most important cause of the academic problems faced by many of these children is that their families are in the lower SES levels; therefore, they are faced with the types of problems that we have discussed with regard to SES (Okagaki, 2001). Moreover, the fact that many families of under-represented do not have the financial ability to move to the suburbs results in their children attending overcrowded, academically inferior urban schools (Barton, 2003).
On the other hand, we hasten to point out that the low achievement shown by many children from minority groups does not mean that members of those groups are inferior. Such stereotyping is very insidious. For example, during the 1920s this was the view that many people in the United States had of European immigrants (especially immigrants from eastern and southern Europe; Oakes & Lipton, 1994). However, as these groups began to enter the middle class, the academic performance of the children gradually improved until it was indistinguishable from other groups. Unfortunately, this process can take several decades and during this process the abilities of many potentially outstanding students are likely to be lost. Many educators argue that what is needed is a comprehensive education reform plan (Borman, Hewes, & Overman, 2003) that will allow minority students to gain the educational skills they need to break the poverty cycle that many of their families are trapped in. In the 1950s, educators believed desegregation of schools might be the answer. Unfortunately, “the overall effect of desegregation on academic achievements of students from under-represented groups has been small, though positive” (Slavin, 2006, p. 110). However, if under-represented children are bussed to high-quality schools, then their academic achievement improves substantially (Trent, 1997). Clearly, additional work is needed in this area.
The Effects of Sex and Gender Roles The question of whether there are sex differences in terms of learning and intelligence has challenged researchers for decades. The general conclusion from this research is that if there are any male-female differences they are minimal and of no real importance (Fennema, Carpenter, Jacopbs, Franke, & Levi, 1998). Even the long-standing belief that boys are better at math than girls appears to be attributable to the fact that girls are discouraged from taking mathematics courses, as opposed to genuine male-female differences (National Center for Education Statistics, 1997). There is good evidence that the male-female differences that do exist are produced by sex-role stereotyping. Depending on whether they are male or female, parents treat babies differently from the time they are born. This differential treatment creates differential behavioral expectations that are translated into accepted gender-role behaviors (Delament, 2001). Moreover, differences in male-female gender-role behavior is greater in low SES families (Flanagan, 1993). These differences in accepted gender-role behavior that begin early in life continue when children enter school; in fact, schools and teachers even appear to perpetuate these differences (Koch, 2003). For example, even though boys may get in trouble more often than girls, they also receive more attention from their teachers (Koch, 2003). Likewise, when boys demonstrate creativity, they receive reinforcement much more quickly than girls who display creativity (Torrance, 1986).
The creation of such differences in accepted gender-role behaviors can, and does, lead to differences in academic achievement. It does not, as already mentioned, mean that there are genetically determined male-female differences. If these differences are not genetically determined, then they, as is true with the other issues we have discussed in this section, can be modified.
The Effect of Different Learning Styles Even though there may be many ways to learn, educational psychologists have shown that people frequently have different learning styles or ways that they learn best (Swisher & Schoorman, 2001). A learning style is how a person approaches a learning task and most effectively processes information.
The concept of and research on learning styles appears to have been spurred by Gardner’s (1993) theory of multiple intelligences. According to Gardner, there are more aspects to intelligence than the verbal and mathematical abilities that intelligence tests currently stress and measure. Although theorists and researchers do not completely agree on the specific list of different types of intelligence and therefore the different learning styles, four of the most important and accepted ones (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits, 2005) are:
Verbal/Linguistic – the ability to use and master words in both spoken and written form.
Logical/Mathematical – the ability to solve mathematical problems and think logically. People who are high in this intelligence and learning style can reason deductively, complete mathematical operations, detect patterns, and think logically.
Visual/Spatial – the ability to represent both wide and confined spaces (i.e., a person’s spatial world).
Interpersonal – the ability to recognize intentions and understand what motivates other people. People who are high in this type of intelligence are sensitive to other people, know how to lead and follow, and know how to work effectively with other people.
**** Without question, the existence of different learning styles leads us to two distinct and important conclusions. What are they? Write down your answer before reading further.
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The first conclusion prompted by the existence of different learning styles is that different learners will prefer to use different learning strategies depending on the predominant learning style (Carter et al., 2005). For example, when they study, students who are high in the verbal/linguistic learning style might engage in such behaviors as rewriting their notes, writing summaries of their text and class notes, and making up word-based mnemonics, such as acronyms. Students with an interpersonal learning style would feel more comfortable discussing the course material in groups, teaching each other, and making quizzes to test each other. Students with strengths in the other learning styles would feel more comfortable engaging in study behaviors that more directly suit their particular style.
Second, the existence of different learning styles should serve as a reminder to teachers that they need to vary their teaching styles. If teachers consistently use the same style, they will appeal to a select group of students with strength in that specific style; however, students with strengths in other learning styles will be at a disadvantage. For example, lecture-only presentations will appeal to verbal/linguistic student, but will not be as effective with students who are strong in other learning styles.
Check Your Learning
Educational psychology is the simultaneous evaluation of learners, the process of learning, and teachers.
Research on the conditions that facilitate effective teaching and learning is the cornerstone of educational psychology. Educational psychologists conduct both single-focused projects and larger research programs that directly address educational policy.
Often educational psychologists use a nonexperimental descriptive research method, such as gathering previously recorded or archival data, to answer a research question. Researchers who are interested in a particular group and choose to become part of that group in order to conduct their study are using ethnology. Another descriptive research method, where teachers or administrators try out a new teaching technique in the classroom or school-wide program, is action research.
A correlational study involves the measurement and determination of the relation between two variables. Correlations may be positive, negative, or zero.
An experiment involves the direct manipulation of an independent variable, the recording changes in a dependent variable, and control of extraneous variables Multi-participant experiments involve testing a number of participants in two or more groups; whereas, a single-case experiment involves testing a single participant.
Recent increases in student diversity have spurred considerable research on the differences in student learning.
Culture, the shared language, traditions, behaviors, customs, and norms of a group, can influence learning and academic performance in several ways.
Socioeconomic status, the combination of a person’s occupation, income, prestige, and education; ethnicity, the culture, identity, and history that is shared by a group; and sex and gender roles also are factors that can influence learning and academic performance. Research has shown that the effects of these factors are not permanent.
Students also differ in terms of their learning styles or how they approach a learning task and most effectively process information.
The Learning Environment
So far we have examined the ways that educational psychologists conduct research on learning and the influence that various types of student diversity can have on learning and academic performance. In this section we will look at what constitutes an effective learning environment.
The major components of an effective learning environment are the teacher’s classroom management techniques and the methods the teacher uses to deal with/prevent behavior problems in the classroom. In an effective learning environment the teacher uses strategies designed to utilize time effectively, keep students on task and working productively, minimize disruptions created by behavior problems. We now directly examine several of these aspects of the effective learning environment.
The Effect of Time
Obviously learning will not take place if no time is devoted to teaching a topic. However, it does not necessarily follow that allocating longer time periods of instruction to a given topic will improve students’ mastery of that material (Walberg, 1988). However, researchers have shown that time can be a relevant factor.
**** If simply teaching a particular topic for longer periods of time has only a very minor impact on learning, in what way does time exert a major influence on learning and academic performance? Give this question some thought and write down an answer before reading further.
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The most important time-related aspect of learning is how students use the time allocated for instruction. If they are actually engaged in appropriate learning activities then the amount of time devoted to a topic is positively correlated with the learning outcome (Rowan, Correnti, & Miller, 2002). Educators frequently refer this engaged time a time on-target. The use of time in the classroom is one of the teacher’s most important classroom management techniques (Morzano, 2003); hence, it is crucial that teachers allocate and use the available time in the most effective manner.
Keeping Lost Time to a Minimum. Without question, considerable instructional time will be sacrificed to bad weather and various school functions, such as assemblies and special programs, during the school year. Such losses of time that would have been spent teaching may tempt teachers to try to squeeze more minutes of instruction out of each day or class period. Although these extra minutes may help somewhat, a more effective technique involves the teacher clearly conveying the importance of learning to the students. If the teacher obviously values learning, then it is more likely that the students also will value learning and their time on-task will increase. Starting and finishing class on time, planning how to avoid interruptions, and handling routine procedures efficiently and effectively are additional techniques teachers can use to preserve teaching time (Evertson, 1982).
It is one thing to talk about the importance of time on-task; frequently, educators find that it is a very different thing to increase this crucial aspect of learning. When time on-task is increased it is due to the teacher’s skills in several areas. For example, the ability to present a lesson that grabs the students’ attention and engages them is the best way to increase time on-task. Such lessons are active and move at a brisk pace, involve active participation by the students, and do not include individual seat work (Slavin, 1990). Because such lessons move at a rapid pace, they avoid a loss of momentum or slow down that can be detrimental to student engagement (Anderson, Evertson, & Brophy, 1979). Moreover, these lessons flow smoothly from one topic or activity to another.
Clearly, these are techniques that teachers can use to engage their students and increase time on-task. However, teachers should not strive for 100% time on-task because this goal actually may be counterproductive and lead to mock participation. Mock participation occurs when students give the impression that they are participating or engaged but really are not on-task (Bloome, Puro, & Theodorou, 1989). Corroborating this conclusions, other research shows that increases in time on-task in classes that do not suffer from interruptions caused by behavior problems do not result in corresponding increases in student achievement and performance (Stallings & Krasavage, 1986).
The Effects of Classroom Management
Without question, implementing the practices that we have considered can, and do, facilitate student engagement and increase learning and performance; in short, these practices help discourage inappropriate behaviors. However, there are additional things that teachers can do, even before the students enter the classroom, that will help insure time on-task and discourage disruptive behavior. Because these procedures involve structuring the classroom and setting rules for the students, they fall under the general heading of classroom management. We intend the following principles to be general guidelines, rather than firm-and-fast procedures to be followed at all grade levels; students differ greatly in cognitive development and understanding from the early primary grades through high school. For example, teachers in the primary grades may want to have more strict rules that students obey; whereas, teachers in high school may want to encourage more self-regulation of behavior in their students.
The Effect of Initial Classes. Research has shown that the initial classes at the beginning of the school year or new academic term are directly related to the effectiveness of the class throughout the year or term (Evertson & Emmer, 1982). Evertson, Emmer, and Worsham (2000) found that the more effective classroom managers:
had a plan for clearly conveying classroom rules to the students.
initially interacted with all the students.
spent additional time discussing the rules and regulations during the initial classes.
stopped misbehavior immediately.
The importance of the initial classes in setting the tome for the rest of the academic term/school year extends from the primary grades through graduate school.
The Effects of Establishing Class Rules. Unless teachers welcome student misbehavior, it is important that they establish class rules as soon as the class begins.
**** Researchers (e.g., Metzger, 2002) have suggested several guidelines for establishing effective class rules. Put yourself in the place of a teacher and see if you can determine what these guidelines might be. Write down some possibilities before you read further.
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The most generally agreed on guidelines are:
Keep the number of rules as few as possible.
Students should view the rules as fair and understandable.
The teacher should explain the rules thoroughly and clearly.
In some instances it may be helpful to allow the students to take part in establishing the rules for the classroom.
Unfortunately, even though teachers may use the best classroom management procedures and establish good rules, they are certain to confront instances of misbehavior. How can teachers manage inappropriate behavior and help keep their students engaged in appropriate learning activities?
Managing Inappropriate Behavior
It is likely that you have encountered the Law of Parsimony in your other psychology classes. Basically, the Law of Parsimony indicates that, given two or more equally acceptable explanations for a phenomenon, researchers should adopt the simplest explanation. With only a slight modification teachers can apply this principle to the management of classroom misbehavior; they should use the simplest intervention that is effective (Kyle & Rogien, 2004). By using this approach the teacher avoids as much classroom disruption as possible and continue with the lessons more efficiently and effectively.
Slavin (2006) has proposed a continuum of seven strategies to manage inappropriate behavior in the classroom. Ranging from the simplest intervention that disrupts the class the least to the most complex intervention that has the most disruptive effects, these strategies include:
Prevention. The teacher uses techniques designed to help keep the students engaged and on-task.
Nonverbal cues. The teacher uses nonverbal cues, such as shaking the head “no,” to let a misbehaving student know that the inappropriate behavior should cease.
Reinforce acceptable behavior that is incompatible with the inappropriate behavior. Reinforcing acceptable behavior that is incompatible with inappropriate behavior can help reengage a misbehaving student with minimal class disruption. Teachers frequently use praise as the reinforcer in these situations.
Praising other students for appropriate behavior. Misbehaving students frequently will return to appropriate behavior when they see the teacher reinforcing other students for appropriate behavior.
Verbal reminders. Simply reminding misbehaving students that their behaviors are inappropriate frequently will result in a return to appropriate behavior. It is important that the teacher delivers the reminder immediately after the misbehavior occurs.
Repeated reminders. Sometimes a single reminder may not be sufficient to return a student to adaptive behavior. For example, the misbehaving student may argue with the teacher’s reminder. In such instances, simply repeating the request, several times if necessary, may be sufficient to get the student back on track (Canter & Canter, 2002).
Implementing consequences. The final, and most disruptive, strategy is to implement consequences for the occurrence(s) of the inappropriate behavior(s). If the teacher reaches this level, it is reasonable to assume that the teacher tried the simpler and less disruptive procedures and found they were not effective. If this level is reached, the teacher literally gives the student a choice: return to acceptable behaviors or suffer the consequences (Fisher & Mazur, 1997). If consequences are to be implemented, teachers must be absolutely certain that they can and will follow through with them. This is not the time for making “idle threats.” Typical consequences for inappropriate classroom behaviors include losing a privilege, staying after school, calling the student’s parents, and so forth.
Dealing With More Serious Misbehavior
The inappropriate behaviors we referred to in the previous sections are ones that teachers can potentially manage by using the methods we discussed. However, some misbehavior is more serious; it is inappropriate anywhere and at any time.
**** What behaviors would fall into the category of inappropriate anywhere and at any time? Write down some possibilities before reading further.
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Among these more disruptive behaviors are destroying property, stealing, verbal and physical abuse of teachers and school officials, and fighting. One of the most popular techniques for dealing with more serious behaviors of this nature, applied behavior analysis, has its roots in the behavioral approach to the study of learning and learning theory.
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Photo 13-3 Goes Here
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Applied Behavioral Analysis. Applied behavioral analysis is the application of behavioral principles of learning in order to increase desired behaviors and decrease undesired behaviors in humans. This approach to behavior change is based on Skinner’s operant conditioning principles (see Chapter 6). Geller (2008) has proposed seven principles that form the foundation of applied behavior analysis (ABA). The principles include:
Target observable behaviors. The to-be-modified behavior(s) should be observable and should be dealt with in its natural setting.
Focus on external factors to explain and improve behavior. According to Geller “ABA focuses on the external environment and contingencies influencing a target behavior” (p. 436).
Direct with activators and motivate with consequences. According to ABA, consequences underlie all of our behavior; we, literally, do what we do because of the consequences. Activators are cues that tell us what behavior to perform in order to receive a particular consequence. The task of ABA is to provide activators that will result in appropriate behaviors that lead to positive consequences.
Focus on positive consequences. ABA strives to increase behaviors that seek success rather than behaviors that avoid failure.
Design interventions with consideration of internal feelings and attitudes. Although ABA focuses on modifying observable behaviors, it does not deny the existence of internal states, such as feelings and attitudes. Consideration of these states is one of the reasons that ABA stresses positive consequences.
Apply the scientific method to improve intervention. Do not rely on common sense to guide the behavioral intervention; use proven scientific methods that are effective with observable behaviors.
Use theory to integrate information, not to limit possibilities. ABA practitioners use theory to expand the possibilities of their approach to changing behavior. They do not allow theories to guide or dictate the nature of the projects they conduct.
Now that we have an understanding of ABA, let’s see how teachers might use it to deal with serious misbehaviors.
Using Applied Behavior Analysis to Deal With Serious Misbehavior. As we already indicated, one of the basic tenets of ABA is that all behavior is performed because of its consequences; in other words, behavior occurs because of the reinforcer it produces. This contention should lead the teacher of a misbehaving student to carefully examine this student’s misbehavior to see what consequences might be maintaining it.
Attention and approval. In many instances the teacher is likely to find that some form of attention (a desired consequence) is reinforcing and maintaining the inappropriate behavior. Moreover, the two most frequently encountered sources of this attention are likely to be the teacher and the misbehaving student’s peers. It is interesting to note that peer attention may motivate misbehavior in some preschool and elementary school children. However, as the child grows older the likelihood that peer attention is the desired consequence increases. Often the teacher may not realize that the misbehaving student is receiving special attention. However, once the teacher understands this contingency, the solution may be as simple as the teacher ignoring (i.e., extinguishing) the inappropriate behavior and paying attention (i.e., reinforcing) the student’s on-task behavior.
When the attention and approval of the student’s peers are maintaining the inappropriate behavior, the techniques for dealing with the misbehaviors are different. The teacher basically has two options in these situations: remove the misbehaving student from contact with the rest of the class or implement a group contingency in which the entire class (including the misbehaving student) is reinforced for on-task behavior.
Boredom. In some instances boredom may be the stimulus that triggers misbehavior; a bored student may engage in inappropriate behavior as a release from boredom, fatigue, or activities that are unpleasant.
**** Assume that you are a teacher and you believe that the misbehavior you are seeing in your class is the result of boredom and fatigue. How would you deal with this situation and get your students back on-task? Write down some possible strategies before reading further.
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Prevention is the best strategy in situations like these. As we have see, when the lesson is interesting and engaging, students typically do not misbehave. Hence, the teacher’s task is to make the material challenging, interesting, and engaging.
Of course, the teacher will be faced with situations where even these procedures are not effective; some students simply display persistent behavior problems. What then? The implementation of a behavior management program designed for the specific student may offer an acceptable, alternative strategy. However, in classes where there are several low-achieving students who are continually frustrated by difficult lessons, unsatisfying work, and expectations that they cannot meet, the teacher may need to implement a specially designed group ABA program.
**** Whether an individual or group program is used, the development and implementation of am ABA procedure will go through a uniform series of phases. What are these phases? Write down some possibilities; try to keep them in order.
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The basic phases in designing and implementing an ABA program are:
Determine the specific (target) maladaptive behavior to be modified. Without question, the misbehaving student may display more than one inappropriate behavior. However, when ABA isa used, researchers have found it best to deal with one behavior at a time.
Determine the reinforcer(s) that are maintaining the maladaptive behavior. As we have indicated already, one of the main tasks in developing an ABA program is to determine if the maladaptive behavior is peer-supported or maintained by teacher attention. Even though these two consequences are common reinforcers, teachers should be aware of other possible contingencies.
Determine the baseline level of the inappropriate behavior. Unless the teacher has established how frequently the maladaptive behavior occurs before treatment is administered, there really is no way to know how effective the treatment is in changing the behavior. In short, a point of reference or comparison is required.
Determine the appropriate reinforcer(s) and reinforcement schedule. Teachers have an amazing number of potential reinforcers at their disposal. We already have seen that praise and attention are powerful reinforcers; similarly, being able to engage in preferred activities, such as playing a game, going first, and helping the teacher, also are powerful reinforcers for some students. If teachers find that one reinforcer is not sufficiently powerful to produce the desired behavior change, then they can move to a more powerful or desired consequence (Schloss & Smith, 1994). However, teachers also must keep in mind that reinforcers are likely going to be unique to the specific child; what will reinforce desired behavior in one child may not act as a reinforcer for another child.
If necessary, determine the punisher(s) and punishment schedule. We indicated that ABA does not favor the use of punishment. There are several reasons for this resistance to the use of punishment. First, the use of corporal punishment by teachers raises ethical issues and is illegal in some states. Second, punishment often results in a condition known as operant aggression. Operant aggression occurs when the punished person or test animal aggresses toward the perceived source of the aggression. For example, a third-grade student may strike out at the teacher who is administering a spanking. If teachers or researchers decide to use punishment, then they must accept the possibility that operant aggression is directed toward them. In the classroom operant aggression also may be displayed as resentment toward the teacher; this resentment may quickly escalate into other behavior problems that may disrupt the class and demand the teacher’s attention.
There is, however, one form of punishment that many teachers and parents use with some degree of regularity. Time out involves removing the misbehaving child from the situation in which the inappropriate behavior occurred and is being reinforced. The child is sent to some location, such as a distant portion of the classroom, the principal’s office, the hall, or a specially designed enclosure, where (ideally) the rest of the class is not visible and there is a minimum of other, distracting stimuli. In short, the time-out area or room should be uninteresting. Table 13-1 shows several of the guidelines for the use of time out.
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Table 13-1 – Guidelines for the Use of Time Out
Use time out sparingly.
When the teacher assigns time out, it should be done calmly and with assuredness.
Time out should be assigned immediately after the inappropriate behavior occurs.
Telling the child why time out has been assigned should be part of the assignment procedure.
Time-out periods should be brief; 3-to-5 minutes usually is sufficient (White & Bailey, 1990).
The student should be calm and settled down before timing of the time-out period begins.
Outbursts, such as yelling and arguing with the teacher, should not be counted toward completion of the time-out period.
The teacher should not reprimand the misbehaving student during the time-out period.
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Many educators have found that if they follow these guidelines, then time out can effectively reduce or eliminate inappropriate behavior (White & Bailey, 1990).
Compare the occurrence of the inappropriate behavior to the baseline during program implementation. It is important that the teacher compare the occurrences of the inappropriate behavior during ABA program implementation to the established baseline to see if the program is producing the desired effects. If the results do not meet the teacher’s expectations, then the teacher can make adjustments, such as using a more powerful reinforce.
Reduction in reinforcer frequency. Once the ABA program is working effectively, then the teacher can begin to gradually reduce the frequency of the reinforcer that is maintaining the appropriate behavior. The goal of an ABA program is to establish self-sustaining, appropriate behavior.
We have seen that there are numerous ways to develop and maintain an effective and on-task classroom that is conducive to increased learning and academic performance.
We have one additional, major area to cover. Educational psychology has clearly demonstrated that how teachers choose to evaluate their students can have a major impact on the amount and quality of learning that has taken place. We turn to the topic of assessment next.
Check Your Learning
Assessment
In our educational system, instruction typically is followed by some type of evaluation or assessment to determine how effective the instruction has been. Clearly, the type of evaluation instrument or test that the teacher uses will play an important role. Additionally, unless the teacher’s learning objectives are clear, then the assessment, regardless of type of instrument that is used, may not evaluate what the teacher wants it to assess (Carr & Harris, 2001).
Developing and Using Learning Objectives
Unless teachers have listed what they want to accomplish on a daily, weekly, and semester basis, the chances that they will achieve an appreciable amount of learning in their classes is slim, at best. In short, teachers must develop an instructional plan and know their learning objectives before the start of the academic term or academic year. Certainly, these plans are subject to modification (Clark & Peterson, 1986) and may be influenced by a variety of factors, such as excessive school days that are missed because of bad weather, a class that moved through the material more rapidly than anticipated, or a disruptive class that progressed more slowly than anticipated.
A learning or behavioral objective is a statement of the skills, knowledge, or concepts that the teacher wants the students to master during a specific period of instruction. According to Mager (1975) learning objectives are composed of three elements: performance, conditions, and criterion. The performance component answers the question “what does the teacher expect the student to do?” The conditions component is concerned with the circumstances under which the student is expected to display the effects of instruction; whereas, the criterion component describes what the teacher believes to be an acceptable performance.
In developing learning objectives, it is important that the teacher writes clear objectives that do not contain words that are open to several interpretations. Additionally, the objectives should be specific to the subject matter and intended task (Hamilton, 1985). Moreover, it is common practice to state learning objectives in terms of how they will be measured. For example, a learning objective for a student taking an experimental psychology or research methods course might be: “By the end of the course students will be able to correctly identify the variance components in an analysis of variance summary table.” When learning objectives are stated in this manner, it is easy to see how they are linked to and guide assessment.
The Importance and Functions of Assessment
Whether we like it or not, some form of evaluation is going to be part of the educational experience in the United States. According to Gronlund (2003), assessment can serve several functions (see Table 13-2.
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Table 13=2 – Functions Served by Evaluation
Feedback to Teachers – Test scores, especially an item-by-item analysis of test items, as well as results of other evaluation instruments, can provide important feedback to teachers regarding the effectiveness of their instruction.
Feedback to Students – Specific, detailed feedback, not just a ubiquitous number or letter grade, lets students know how effective their studying and academic preparation has been and what changes they need to make in order to improve (Munk & Bursuck, 1998). Additionally, this feedback can serve as a motivator for students. The motivation for top grades, shown by students who want to attend a highly selective, prestigious college or graduate school, is a good example of this function.
Feedback to Parents – Grades and other evaluation reports provide parents with important information concerning their children’s progress in school.
Feedback for Selection – Grades and evaluations play an important role in selection starting in the primary grades with the formation of different ability level reading groups through selection for admission to a graduate or professional program.
Feedback for Accountability – Student grades in classes, and more likely, on standardized tests provide information that is used in the evaluation of the educational effectiveness of teachers, schools, school districts, and even states.
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Types of Assessment
From time-to-time we have alluded to several types of evaluation. In this section we will examine the various types and dimensions of assessment more closely. Because of the widespread use of tests, we will devote more attention to them. One dimension that distinguishes types of assessment is the formative-summative distinction.
Formative vs. Summative Evaluation. A formative evaluation is concerned with how well the students are performing and how they can do better; whereas, a summative evaluation is concerned with how well the students did. Formative evaluations are analogous to diagnostic tests; teachers can administer them any time during the academic term and they frequently result in changes in the teacher’s strategy or curriculum at that point in time (McMillan, 2004). Summative evaluations, on the other hand, are measures of achievement, such as a final exam, that students complete at the end of an instructional unit or course. Clearly, teachers can, and should, use both formative and summative evaluations and they should be closely linked to the learning objectives that the teacher has developed for the instructional unit or course.
Norm-Based vs. Criterion-Based Evaluations. Interpreting students’ evaluations scores or data provides another area of concern. For example, the person interpreting the scores needs to know if they are norm-based or criterion-based. Norm-based evaluations compare the scores of a particular student with the scores of other students. For example, researchers have established norms for specific age ranges. For example, the norm group for an IQ test may have a mean score of 100 and a standard deviation of 10; therefore, if you scored 108 on this IQ test your score would be above the mean with approximately 60% of the normative group making scores lower than yours. Grading on a curve is another example of norm-based evaluation. In these cases, the performance of one student is directly compared to and influenced by the scores of other students in the class.
Criterion-based evaluations are concerned with the student’s mastery of a particular skill or subject without regard to how well other students have done (Popham, 2006). It is important that criterion-based evaluations are carefully linked to well-defined learning objectives. An example of criterion-based evaluation would be the teacher who grades on a scale where 90%-100% = A, 80%-89% = B; 70%-79% = C; 60%-69% = D; below 60% = F. Of course, this scale assumes that the scores of other students do not impact each other (i.e., there is no grade curving).
**** Briefly review the two dimensions of evaluation, formative vs. summative and norm-based vs. criterion-based. Which will you choose? Why? Write down your answer before reading further.
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If your answer was a bit cautious and you basically indicated that the best evaluative strategy might be determined by the specific task or behavior being assessed, you are definitely on the right track (Popham, 2006). What works well for one learning objective may not work well for another. For example, short, daily quizzes that are graded right after completion and provide immediate feedback are likely to be more effective in motivating students than are major exams that cover an entire block of material. These daily quizzes are a form of criterion-based evaluation. On the other hand, instances such as deciding whether a student should be placed in an accelerated class or gifted program require comparison with other students. In addition to tailoring the evaluation strategy to the learning objective, teachers are encouraged to use multiple evaluation strategies (Slavin, 2006), as well as repitions of the same strategy.
Test Construction
Once teachers have specified their learning objectives and considered the type of evaluation they want to conduct, it is time to consider the nature of the test they will use. Should they choose a test that is already prepared and widely available or should they choose to write their own test items?
If you choose to use an already constructed test, then you should have access to an abundance of literature that describes such aspects as the test’s reliability and validity and provides norms for you to compare student scores with. Should you choose to write your own test items, you will lack this information; therefore, you may want to do some preliminary or pilot testing of selected items. If pilot testing is not an option, then you will want to conduct an item analysis to determine which items were effective in discriminating between students who had mastered the material and those who had not mastered it.
Regardless of your choice of type of test, there are six principles, mentioned by Gronlund (2001) that all teachers should keep in mind when they administer achievement tests. These six principles are shown in Table 13-3.
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Table 13-3 Principles That Guide Achievement Testing
The test should be comprised of a representative sample of the tasks to be mastered by the learners. It is a rare test, indeed, that evaluates each and every task mastered by the learners; hence, the items that comprise the assessment instrument should be representative of the full range of material that the students have covered.
The test should be linked directly to the learning objectives. The test should evaluate the students’ attainment of the teacher’s learning objectives (Hanna & Bettman, 2004). In short, the test should be valid and measure what it purports to measure.
The test items should be the most appropriate for assessing the learning objectives. The teacher should select types of items that are most effective in measuring the learning objectives (Strong, Silver, & Perini, 2001). For example, multiple-choice items are much less effective than an essay test in assessing a learning objective that includes improvement in writing ability.
The test and the potential uses of the test should complement each other. The teacher should determine all the possible uses that teachers and other school personnel will make of the results of an assessment activity. Once this determination is made, then the teacher should see if the proposed test will satisfy all of these potential uses.
Tests should improve learning. Stiggins (2004) argues effectively that tests, especially formative assessments, should be for the improvement of learning, not a determination of what students have mastered.
Tests should be reliable. When a test is reliable, students will make essentially the same score on repeated administrations of the test.
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In addition to adhering to the six principles described in Table 13-3, it is important that all types of tests are fair; although there is no universally accepted definition of a fair test, most educational psychologists agree that a fair test is impartial and free from discrimination.
Writing Items for an Objective Test. Objective tests are assessments where the items can be scored as either right or wrong. Objective items typically include multiple-choice, true-false, and matching questions. There is a different strategy to writing each type of item.
Multiple-choice questions. Many educators (e.g., Haladana, 1997, 1999) consider multiple-choice questions to be among the best and most adaptable test items. Multiple-choice questions are composed of two elements: a stem and choices (alternatives). The stem can be in the form of a questions or a partially completed statement. The stem should not be lengthy and overly complicated; it should, however, be sufficiently clear and specific to be able to stand on its own. One of the alternatives answers the question or completes the statement; the incorrect alternatives are called distracters.
The best multiple-choice questions are those that: (a) capable students who have mastered the material can answer, and, (b) are not easily answered correctly by students who have not mastered the material. To accomplish the second objective, the distracters must appear to be plausible to the unprepared students; they key word is plausible, not tricky.
When writing the stem and alternatives the teacher should try to avoid both “no-exception” words, such as all, never, always, and so forth, and “qualifiers,” such as sometimes, often, typically, seldom, and so forth.
**** Why should no-exception words and qualifiers be avoided in the construction of multiple-choice questions? Give this question some thought and keep in mind that there are at least two potential reasons. Write down some possibilities before reading further.
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It is best to avoid no-exception words because they tend to occur in incorrect statements; very few, if any, situations meet the always or never criterion. Hence, if such statements appear on a test, test-savvy students who have not studied, might be able to answer several questions without knowing the material. On the other hand, qualifiers often occur in correct statements (Hill, 1977) and, therefore, have the potential to give test-savvy students an advantage.
True-false questions. Although teachers have used true-false questions seemingly forever, they should be avoided. Why? The probability that students can get half of these items correct just by guessing makes them poor indicators of student mastery of the material.
Matching items. Matching items typically consist of two lists and the students’ task is to correctly match items from one list with the correct mate from the second list. Basically, matching items provide a good test of students’ recall of material. The main disadvantage of matching items is that once students have matched several items, they have reduced the number of alternatives and it becomes possible to select correct matches without knowing the material. The best way to avoid this problem is to include either more or fewer items in the second list than there are items in the first list. When more than enough items are included in the second list, the students have to select the appropriate number of correct matches. When fewer than enough items comprise the second list, some items will be used more than once.
Completion and fill-in-the-blank items. With completion and fill-in-the blank items, the students produce the correct answer rather than selecting it from two or more alternatives. The answer to an item of this nature can either be one word or an appropriate phrase. The main advantage to this type of item is that it effectively eliminates any advantage that a test-savvy student might have acquired. There are no alternatives or tell-tale wordings that the test-wise student can use to eliminate incorrect alternatives; the student either knows the answer and fills in the blank/completes the item correctly or does not know the answer. However, as most students would agree, ambiguity can be a drawback to the use of these items.
**** There are at least two ways that ambiguity can be a problem for fill–in-the-blank/completion items. What are they? Write down some possibilities before you read further.
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First the question or statement itself can be ambiguous; thus, more than one answer may be correct. Therefore, it is vital that the question or statement be as clear and unambiguous as possible. For example, what is the correct answer to the following question?
“NaCl stands for ________.”
Is the answer “salt,” or “one part sodium and one part chloride”?
Second, the ambiguity may be in the potential answer(s). The teacher must determine if there could be more than one word or phrase that is acceptable as the correct answer. For example, what is the correct answer to the following statement?
“The stimulus that acquires the ability to elicit a conditioned response after being paired with and unconditioned stimulus is the _________.”
Is the correct answer “conditioned stimulus”? Will the teacher accept “CS”?
If ambiguity appears to be a problem, then the teacher probably should change the test-item format.
When constructed properly, objective items have the potential to assess learning effectively. As teachers know quite well, objective items also offer the distinct advantage of being easy to grade. However, objective questions are not the only items that teachers can use to construct an evaluation instrument. We turn to several of these other types of items next.
Developing Essay Questions. Essay questions allow students to develop their own ideas and answer in their own words. Educational psychologists generally distinguish between two types of essay items: short essay and long essay. Short essay items usually take the form of a question that the student is to answer in one or two sentence or up to a page. Teachers often use short essay questions as one component of of a test that may also contain objective items. Long essay items require more lengthy answers and likely will require substantially more time than short essay questions to complete.
Essay questions have the advantage of requiring students to display one or more abilities. For example, an essay question may require students to organize, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize, as well as define terms and concepts. There are several guidelines for the effective development and use of essay questions. Table 13-4 shows several of these guidelines.
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Table XX-3 Guidelines for Constructing and Administering Essay Questions
The teacher should carefully link the essay item with the learning objectives.
The teacher should clearly state the maximum length of the essay.
If necessary, the teacher should specify the order for arranging components/sections of the answer.
The direction should clearly specify exactly what the teacher wants in the answer. Do not use general directions.
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Essay questions also have additional advantages. For example, they:
completely avoid the problem of guessing; test-savvy students do not have an unfair advantage with essay questions.
are capable of assessing creativity.
are capable of assessing organizational skills.
are capable of assessing linguistic fluency.
are more effective in discouraging academic dishonesty than objective tests.
Do not give the students a choice of which question(s) they will answer. Although this option appeals to most students, it faces several obstacles. These obstacles include students making poor question selection given their level of mastery of the course material. Moreover, it is difficult to write several essay questions of comparable difficulty; hence, some students may select the easier questions, whereas other students may select more difficult questions. Finally, giving the syudents a choice of questions allows them to concentrate their studies on selected portions of the material they are confident will contain a test question(s).
Despite these advantages, there are several drawbacks to the use of essay tests. Without question, grading essay tests is the biggest problem faced by teachers who use this format for evaluation. Clearly, grading essay tests requires a substantial investment of time and teachers who have large classes simply may not have the requisite time. Moreover, teachers need to develop both a general grading rubric, which describes the nature of the of answer that the teacher expects for different grade levels and can be shared with the students, and a specific grading rubric for each essay test they administer. In short, it is important to make the grading rubrics as clear, specific, and understandable as possible to insure uniform grading.
As we have seen, preparing an effective test and grading it fairly and consistently are challenges for event the most veteran teachers. However, tests are not the only method that is available for assessing student learning and academic performance. We consider several of these “other” assessment methods next.
Other Assessment Methods
The criticisms leveled against standardized testing in general (see Thompson, 2001), and the seemingly exclusive use of multiple-choice questions in particular, has resulted in the development of several alternative methods of assessment. Among these methods are performance, and portfolio assessments. The most strikling feature of these alternative methods is that their goals are to document the students’ learning or demonstrate the acquisition of an ability or skill because of the instruction or learning episode (Carey, 2001).
Performance-Based Assessment. As the name suggests, performance-based assessment involves the demonstration of a skill or knowledge that a stduent has acquired (Foster & Noyce, 2004). The quality of a science fair project that the student designed and built is an example of a performance-based assessment. If you stop and think about it, all of us are frequently confronted by performance assessments during the course of our daily lives.
How effective are educational performance assessments? Do they really avoid the criticism that traditional paper-and-pencil tests result in teachers teaching only the narrow range of topics that will appear on the test (Popham, 2004)? In this regard, one advantage of performance-based assessment is that the teacher can develop a broad-based course or program of study that is complemented by a wide-range assessment. For example, conducting, preparing a written report, and then orally defending a master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation are broad-based performance-based assessments for graduate students.
Most performance-based assessments are evaluated according to a rubric that is developed prior to the assessment (Arter & McTighe, 2001). It is important that the teacher take the necessary time to develop a good and useful rubric. The better the rubric, the less like that the teacher will fall prey to subjectivity in evaluating a student’s performance.
Protfolio Assessment. Portfolio assessment involves the evaluation of samples of work that students submit during a specified period of time, such as a specified block of instruction, an academic term, or an academic year (McMillan, 2004). Some of the more typical student works that teachers frequently collect are writing samples (e.g., themes, book reports, term papers, APA format papers, etc.), completed projects, and other artifacts that show development in learning and academic performance (Arter, 1991). Of course, the samples of student work that comprise the portfolio must be closely linked to the teacher’s learning objectives. Although the term “portfolio” may create the image of a bulging file folder, many students are maintaining their portfolios as a computer file or web-site that can be supplemented by paper files (Diehm, 2004).
As with performance-based assessment, it is important that teachers develop a strong grading rubric that they make available to the students at the beginning of the instructional unit or academic term/year. When such a rubric is used, teachers and school officials, parents, and students can see improvement in the various areas reflected by the student work samples submitted over the evaluation period.
Because portfolios allow evaluators hands-on access to a variety of student work samples, they tend to be popular. Despite this popularity, portfolio assessment suffers from one major drawback; the reliability of the scoring of portfolios is not good. When different raters evaluate the same project, they frequently give very different ratings (Cheung, 1995). Hence, the best use of portfolio assessment is in combination with other types of assessment.
Once an assessment or evaluation is complete, then the teacher typically assigns a grade. We turn to this topic next.
Grading
Teachers at all educaitonal levels likely would agree that assigning grades is one of the most difficult tasks they face (Guskey & Bailey, 2001). Another difficult task is determining what the different grades mean and communicating this information to students and parents. For example, what do the letter grades A, B, C, D, and F stand for in terms of learning and academic performance? Although most teachers, students, and parents have a good idea what an A and an F represent, the meanings assigned to the grades that fall in between these extremes can, and do, vary considerably (Canady & Hotchkiss, 1993).
As we have seen, teachers can measure academic performance in a relative or an absolute manner. Assigning grades according to an absolute grading scale sufferrs from two drawbacks. First, absolute standards are not as absolute and stand alone as they may seem. For example, test difficulty can determine student scores; hence, a large number of scores might be clustered in the 90-100% (A) and 80-90% (B) range on an easy test, whereas, the scores might be clustered in the 70-79% (C) and 60-69% (D) range on a very difficult test. Clearly, grading standards were impacted by test difficulty in these two situations. The second difficulty encountered by absolute grading concerns scores in the F (below 60%) range. The great breadth of this range makes the inmterpretation and meaning of this grade ambiguous, at best. Is this a student made a genuine effort to learn the material and barely missed passing the test (i.e., scored 59%), or is this a student who put forth very little effort (i.e., scored 22%)? Clearly, the F grade does not answer these questions.
Whether traditional A, B, C, D, and F grades are absolute or relative, they suffer from the inability to inform teachers, students, parents, and potential employers exactly what the students receiving these grades know and are capable of doing. This drawback has led some teachers and educators to use performance grading
**** Think about the term performance grading. What concept, that we have already covered, does this term bring to mind? How would a teacher implement performance grading? Give these questions some thought and write down some possibilities before reading furhter.
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As the term suggestss, performance grading is similar to performance-based assessment. In the case of performance grading, the teacher either collects samples of the students’ work or requires that they demonstrate a skill or knowledge-based ability. In turn, the teacher may describe the student’s level of ability or assign a letter grade based on an established standard or grading rubric. At first glance, because the teacher collects work samples, performance may seem to be nothing more than another name for portfolio assessment; however, they are different. Portfolio assessment involves the collection of work samples throughout the academic term or instruction period in order to demonstrate growth in learning and academic performance. On the other hand, performance grading involves the demonstration of the attainment of a level of performance, typically at the end of the academic term or instructional period.
Clearly, the determination and assignment of grades influences our view of a student’s mastery of academic material. If you review this chapter, this is one of the major themes that characterizes educational psychology. There are several ways to define learning, measure, and assign grades to learning and academic performance. Moreover, we have seen that learning also is influenced by such factors as student diversity, various aspects of time, and classroom management. As participants in, and consumers of, the educational process, it is imperative that we understand clearly the claims that are made about learning.
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Learning in Real Life: Allowing Students To Retake a Test
For some teachers it is common practice to allow students to retake a test if they initially fail it. Have you ever wonderd about this practice and what it is supposed to accomplish? Some students see it as being unfairbecause it allows other students an opportunity to slack off on their studies without suffering a major penalty. On the other hand, proponents of this practice argue that mastery of the material is what is important, not whether a student has taken a test once or twice.
There are some restrictions to the use of this procedure, however. It is imperative that the teacher use an alternative form of the test. If the original test is simply readministered, then the students, who already know the quesitons, would have to study only the material pertaining to those questions. Moreover, in order to counteract the effects of having more study time than the other students, some teachers reduce the grade on the retake by one letter. Hence, if a student retakes a test and makes a B, then the recorded grade would be a C.
There are two drawbacks to allowing students to retake a test that the teacher must confront. First, allowing students to retake tests requires additional time and effort on the part of the teacher to write and grade the extra tests. Second, the teacher must make every effort to insure that the difficulty level of the two tests is comparable; this is a difficult task.
Despite these potential problems, it does not appear that students have abused this opportunity. The general consensus appears to be that “allowing students a second chance is a good way to allow those who are willing to put in extra effort to improve a poor grade” (Slavin, 2006, p. 484).
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Check Your Learning
The learning environment can have a significant impact on the level of learning and academic performance shown by students. An effective learning environment is composed of the teacher’s classroom management techniques and the methods the teacher uses to deal with/prevent behavior problems in the classroom.
Time on-target refers to the amount of time that a student is engaged in activities related to a specified learning outcome Presenting an active lesson that catches the students’ attention and engages them can increase time on-target substantially
The initial class periods can set the tone and determine class effectioveness for the entire academic term. It is important that the teacher establish rules and regulations for classroom behavior at the beginning of the academic term.
In dealing with misbehavior, teachers should follow the Law of Parsimony (simple explanations of phenomena are preferred to complex explanations) and use the simplest intervention that is effective.
Applied behavioral analysis, the application of behavioral principles of learning in order to increase desired behaviors and decrease undesired behaviors, can be used to deal with more serious misbehavior in the classroom.
Although advocates of applied behavioral analysis typicaslly do not advocate the use of punishment, time out, which involves removing the misbehaving child from the situation in which inappropriate behavior occurred and is being reinforced, is a form of punishment that teachers and parents frequently use.
Assessment or evaluation typically follows a period of instruction.
Assessment should be linked directly with the teachers’ learning or behavioral objectives. Learning or behavioral objectives are statements of the skills, knowledge, or concepts that the teacher wants the students to master based on a specific period of instruction
A formative evaluation is concerned with how well the students are performing at the time of the evaluation and how they can do better; whereas a summative evaluation
is concerned with how well the student did at the completion of a course or unit of instruction.
A norm-based evaluation compares the scores of a particular student with the scores of other students; whereas, a criterion-based evaluation is concerned with the student’s mastery of a particular skill or subject without regard to how well other students have done.
Teachers typically use some type of test to conduct an evaluation or assessment. Tests should be valid (the test should measure what it purports to measure) and reliable (repeated administrations of a test should yield essentially the same scores).
An objective test is an assessments where the items can be scored as either right or wrong. Objective tests can include multiple-choice, true-false, completion, and matching items
Some teachers prefer to use essay questions because they require that the students construct the answers and thereby can display organization, creativity, and analysis, in addition to subject matter knowledge.
A performance-based assessment, which involves the demonstration of a skill or knowledge, and portfolio assessment, which involves the evaluation of samples of work that students submit during a specified period of time, are assessment alternatives to administering a test.
Assigning grades is a difficult task that may be done on a relative or absolute basis.
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Margin Definitions
educational psychology
the simultaneous evaluation of learners, the process of learning, and teachers.
descriptive research
research methods that do not involve the manipulation of variables or factors
archival data
previously recorded data that has been preserved
ethnography
a descriptive research approach that involves the researcher becoming part of the group that is studied
action research
a descriptive research procedure that involves direct implementation of a program or strategy by teachers or school administrators
correlational study
determination of the relation between two variable
positive correlation
as scores on one variable increase, scores on the second variable also increase
negative correlation
as scores on one variable increase, scores on the second variable decrease
zero correlation
the two variables under consideration are not related
experiment
an attempt to determine the cause-and-effect relations that exist in nature. Involves the manipulation of an independent variable (IV), recording changes in a dependent variable (DV), and control of extraneous variables.
independent variable (IV)
a stimulus or aspect of the environment that the researcher directly manipulates to determine its influences on behavior
dependent variable
a response or behavior that the experimenter measures. Changes in the DV should be caused by manipulation of the independent variable (IV)
extraneous variable
undesired variables that may operate to influence the dependent variable (DV) and, thus, invalidate an experiment
multi-participant experiment
an experiment in which several participants are tested or evaluated
randomized field experiment
a research project conducted over a substantial period of time to evaluate an instructional program
single-case experiment
an experiment with one participant
culture
the shared language, traditions, customs, behaviors, and norms of a group
socioeconomic status (SES)
the combination of a person’s occupation, income, prestige, and education in his or her society
Ethnicity
the culture, identity, and history shared by a group of people
race
the visible physical characteristics, such as skin color, that identify individuals as members of some general group.
learning style
how a person approaches a learning task and most effectively processes information.
effective learning environment
composed of the teacher’s classroom management techniques and the methods the teacher uses to deal with/prevent behavior problems in the classroom.
time on-target
the amount of time that a student is engaged in activities related to a specified learning outcome
mock participation
occurs when students give the impression that they are participating or engaged in class material by really are not on-task
Law of Parsimony
simple explanations of phenomena are preferred to complex explanations
applied behavioral analysis
the application of behavioral principles of learning in order to increase desired behaviors and decrease undesired behaviors in humans
operant aggression
occurs when the punished person or test animal aggresses toward the perceived source of the aggression
time out
removing the misbehaving child from the situation in which inappropriate behavior occurred and is being reinforced
learning or behavioral objective
a statement of the skills, knowledge, or concepts that the teacher wants the students to master based on a specific period of instruction
formative evaluation
is concerned with how well the students are performing and how they can do better
summative evaluation
is concerned with how well the student did
norm-based evaluation
compares the scores of a particular student with the scores of other students
criterion-based evaluation
concerned with the student’s mastery of a particular skill or subject without regard to how well other students have done
validity
the test measures what it purports to measure
reliability
repeated administrations of a test yield essentially the same scores
objective test
an assessments where the items can be scored as either right or wrong
distracters
the incorrect alternatives in a multiple-choice question
performance assessment
involves the demonstration of a skill or knowledge
portfolio assessment
involves the evaluation of samples of work that students submit during a specified period of time
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